Winds of up to 70 mph kick up waves big enough to surf on at Lake Tahoe on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014, as a large winter storm moved through the area.

Winds of up to 70 mph kick up waves big enough to surf on at Lake Tahoe on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014, as a large winter storm moved through the area.

Photo: Courtesy / Placer County Sheriff's Office

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High winds of up to 70 mph kick up waves big enough to surf on Lake Tahoe Thursday December 11, 2014 as a large winter storm moves through the area.

High winds of up to 70 mph kick up waves big enough to surf on Lake Tahoe Thursday December 11, 2014 as a large winter storm moves through the area.

Photo: Courtesy, Placer County Sheriff's Office

Image 3 of 5

High winds of up to 70 mph kick up waves big enough to surf on at Lake Tahoe on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014, as a large winter storm moved through the area.

High winds of up to 70 mph kick up waves big enough to surf on at Lake Tahoe on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014, as a large winter storm moved through the area.

Photo: Courtesy / Placer County Sheriff's Office

Image 4 of 5

High winds of up to 70 mph kick up waves big enough to surf on Lake Tahoe Thursday December 11, 2014 as a large winter storm moves through the area.

High winds of up to 70 mph kick up waves big enough to surf on Lake Tahoe Thursday December 11, 2014 as a large winter storm moves through the area.

Photo: Courtesy, Placer County Sheriff's Office

Image 5 of 5

As high winds blow across the Sierra, surf's up on Lake Tahoe

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Southwesterly wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour are forecast to blow across Lake Tahoe Wednesday, churning waves up to three feet high, according to the National Weather Service.

This could bring some surfers to the lake's north and northwest shores, says Scott McGuire with the Weather Service's Reno office.

"The winds are coming unaffected across the entire length of the lake and it builds up those waves as it moves across," McGuire says. "Southerly winds are ideal but southwesterly still provides a decent fetch."

Tahoe's waves aren't nearly as popular as its slopes, but when the winds kick up and propel waves, it's not unusual to see a few people hanging ten on breakers close to the lake shore.

As a series of weak storms blasted the Sierra this month, the winds began kicking up, signaling the start of the "surf season" on the lake.

Rory Koff posted a photo of the surf on Thursday with the message "Lake Tahoe surf season back on."